Western Orphan Trains

Penobscot Indian Molly Ayer is close to "aging out" out of the foster care system. A community-service position helping an elderly woman clean out her home is the only thing keeping Molly out of juvie and worse.... As she helps Vivian sort through her possessions and memories, Molly learns that she and Vivian aren’t as different as they seem to be. A young Irish immigrant orphaned in New York City, Vivian was put on a train to the Midwest with hundreds of other children whose destinies would be determined by luck and chance.

Rosa Sullivan’s happy, privileged life is shattered when she learns that her parents are not her birth parents at all. With her life in turmoil, she’s left with two choices, marry for stability or venture into uncertainty. Fueled by grief and curiosity, she embarks on a journey to Colorado to search for the answers. There, she crosses paths with Daniel, a local man who harbors his own discontent and their connection feels oddly familiar… Will Rosa find the answers she seeks? Daniel Cooper has no reason to be miserable and yet he longs for more, something outside the boundaries of ...

Nine-year-old Ethan Cooper has managed to keep his family together for a year in a Pennsylvania orphanage. Now he and his siblings are boarding a train headed west. He can’t help but worry: Mr. and Mrs. Rush in Nebraska have agreed to adopt all four Cooper children, but what if they change their minds?

Bridget Collins is in dire straits - she needs to get out of New York, fast. With two young siblings under her wing, her options are limited. Her priest sends her as an outplacement agent on the orphan trains that run from New York to out west. With almost 40 orphans under her care, she's relieved that fellow and more experienced outplacement agent Carl Watson is there to guide her. But Carl is dealing with his own trauma and finds it difficult to handle the pain the orphans are dealing with.

Fifteen-year-old street thief Eddie Doyle has spent his life surviving on the streets of New York—until one desperate act changes everything. Fleeing with his deaf sister aboard an orphan train bound for Kansas, he finds himself in a world both harsher—and more hopeful—than he ever imagined. At Bittersweet Farm, under the watch of Mary Christmas, a retired Wild West Show sharpshooter and her “found family”, Eddie and a group of forgotten orphans learn what it means to belong. But danger lingers beyond the wheat fields, and the past refuses to stay buried. In a land of second ...

Mary Whitaker has spent ten years riding the orphan trains west. Long enough to know that children need homes. Long enough to know that she does not. Arriving in Wind River, Wyoming Territory, with thirty-seven orphaned children in her care, Mary intends to do what she has always done—place the children, complete her ledger, and board the next train east. Staying was never part of the plan. Neither was falling in love. Widowed rancher Caleb Mills attends the orphan placement hoping to find a boy capable of helping on his struggling ranch. Instead, he finds Tommy O'Hara—a wary thirteen-...

As a widow who never had children of her own, Hester Haak never imagined she'd open her home in Kansas to not just one but three kids from the bustling streets of New York. But when the Children's Aid Society unexpectedly allows her to take two sisters and a young boy her care, she rises to the challenge. Hester is determined to provide a safe, loving home for these children, even as the shadow of them potentially leaving looms over her.

When a Texas tornado hits Jake Jones’ ranch, he loses everything. Orphaned and stripped of his home, wealth and social status, he has no other choice but to take matters into his own hands. With only a couple of ranch hands and a thousand cattle left, he must lead them to the nearest market. With all his money now gone, Jake cannot take the train car, but has to do it the hard, old-fashioned way… Preparing for the most grueling cattle drive of his life, will he rise to meet the challenge? Annie Rose Parker has lost her husband in the storm. An Irish immigrant, she is neither here nor ...

Sinead - who is both resilient and vulnerable, insightful and insecure - spends her days supporting her ailing mother and appeasing Emerson, the man who owns her house and the diner where she works. She wants nothing more than to leave the town her own dark history is bound up in, but Emerson asserts his power over her, thwarting her progress at every turn. One day, Tobias, a mysterious rambler from the east coast, walks into the diner, and Sinead makes the impulsive decision to invite him into her life and home.

Between 1854 and 1930, more than 200,000 orphaned or abandoned children were sent west on orphan trains to find new homes. Some were adopted by loving families; others were not as fortunate. In recent years, some of the riders have begun to share their stories. Andrea Warren alternates chapters about the history of the orphan trains with the story of Lee Nailling, who in 1926 rode an orphan train to Texas.

He had only taken a few steps when he heard Tessa speaking again: “I just can’t ever be free...” Raised in a Christian orphanage, eighteen-year-old Rylan Crowder yearns to see the world beyond its walls. Joining the wagon train of Harlan Briggs—a stern but fair wagon master—he expects challenge, but not the dangerous charade he’s forced into: posing as the fiancé of Tessa, a guarded young woman with secrets she’ll do anything to keep hidden. Together, they face the unforgiving wilderness and dangers lurking at every turn. But when a stranger infiltrates their camp, they ...

Kelli is a 19-year-old orphan who lives and teaches at a New York orphanage. She is sent west on the Orphan Train to oversee the children. When the train reaches Kansas, the end of the line, and Kelli realizes that she must return to New York, she makes a desperate plea to a golden-bronzed cowboy, asking to fill the place of a mail order bride he advertised for to raise his little girl.

With a saddle bag full of stolen gold and dreams of a new beginning, Jeremiah rides across the untamed plains of Oklahoma. His destination is Treasure Coast, a fabled paradise in Mexico that he discovered in the pages of an old book. Fueled by hope and accompanied by his fiancée and a trusted friend, Jeremiah is determined to turn the fantasy into reality. But the Des Gang, once his allies, are relentless in their pursuit, eager to reclaim what Jeremiah took from them—and they won't stop until blood is spilled. Can he outrun his enemies, or will they reclaim what’s theirs in blood? ...

Colten Francis is a man on the run with his former comrades hot on his trail. Seeking safety, he joins a wagon train headed through a mountain pass into Wyoming. As a passive man unsuited to the soldier's life, Colten yearns for peace, but trouble seems to follow him wherever he goes. Sometimes though peace is not an option... Agatha, traveling with her young son Jacob, is also fleeing from a dark past. She holds a secret that could bring the notorious Dupont Gang down upon them all. When Colten joins the wagon train, their paths cross, and Agatha is faced with a new challenge. Will she be ...

Noah Carter returns from the Civil War with nothing but scars, a revolver, and the ghost of a life he can never reclaim. His hometown lies in ashes, his parents are gone, and the only option he has is to become a hired gun. But when a fierce gang destroys Colorado City and nearly kills him, Noah realizes some battles follow you no matter how far you run… Wendy Longstreet never imagined she’d be responsible for what remains of her community. With Purgatory burned and her parents murdered, their only hope lies in driving two thousand longhorns to Denver. When Noah crosses their path, ...

Book 7 in the Orphan Train series takes listeners on a journey to Ireland, where Lily and Charlie find themselves on an adventure. Meanwhile, back at the Sanctuary in New York, Kathleen is left in charge and is facing a host of problems. With the new factory opening soon, the Chivers children searching for a permanent home, and a couple of stray orphans in need of her care, Kathleen feels like she's in over her head. As she tries to navigate these challenges, she finds herself wishing Lily would come home soon. Charlie surprised Lily with tickets for the Titanic's maiden voyage.

Walter John was abandoned as a baby at St. Peter’s Orphanage in San Juan, NM, unaware of his origins. His only clue was a series of cryptic sketches sent to him over the years, culminating in a final drawing with the words “Find us” scrawled at the bottom. Determined to uncover the truth behind his identity, he embarks on a daring quest with his best friend, Max. As they follow the trail of sketches they encounter unexpected allies and dangerous foes, including traveller Stephanie Parker and a mysterious man, who claims to know the secrets of Walter’s past. Will the truth liberate ...

Kathleen Green longs for a child of her own. Her work with the orphan trains only serve to heighten her need. When tragedy strikes, will she get the child she always wanted? Will the cost be worth it? 

Kenny Clark knows Santa is magical and only he can find his family. Kathleen Collins fights poverty and desperation every day in her bid to find new homes for the orphans of New York. But what about her happily ever after?

Two New York girls, Maria Mezza and Alice Doe, wake up one November morning in 1906. Their lives are about to change forever. Maria is heading to her first job in a shirtwaist factory wishing she was heading to the country side. Alice is leaving New York to find a new family in Illinois country side. Three years later, the paths of the two girls will converge once more. Gone is the innocence of youth yet both girls are desperately hoping their lives will improve. Maria is caught up in the Shirtwaist Strike while Alice is on the run for her life.`